Letters to the editor

Businesses, unions share same goal

I find it interesting that the Undergraduate Student Association
Council has unanimously declared that because “access to
affordable healthcare is a human right,” we should support
the grocery workers who are striking for better medical benefits
(Dec. 4, p. 9 advertisement).

Neither a private business whose primary focus is maximizing its
own profits nor a labor union whose primary concern is the welfare
of its members (and not the welfare of the nation) is an ideal
enforcer of human rights.

It is the government that protects our basic human rights to
speak freely, petition our leaders and practice the religion of our
choosing. All of the energy that the supermarket chains and the
unions are expending during the current strike would be put to
better use if both sides instead join forces to pressure the state
and federal government to guarantee universal health coverage for
all residents, both legal and illegal.

Businesses would benefit by being freed of this costly burden.
And workers, both union and non-union, would be better off not
having to worry about losing their health coverage when they leave
their jobs.

Chris Norlin Alumnus UCLA Class of 1988

Health care costs are passed on

I must take exception with the submission by Ryan Yokota
(“Strikers’ call for health care necessary, a right for
all people,” Dec. 4). Health care is not a “right for
all people.”Â As terrible as I feel about the poor
workers getting carpal tunnel from scanning groceries, it is not
the responsibility of the market to pay for their health care. If
workers don’t find the benefits package to be satisfactory,
they are free to find other sources of employment.

I realize that Yokota feels “supermarkets can more than
afford to pay for these increases.” It’s very kind of
him to spend other people’s money in such generous ways. I
worked construction (a much more “dangerous” job) and
managed to buy my own insurance.

Any costs the markets incur because of insurance costs will be
passed on to customers. This will hurt all people, both rich and
poor, that choose to shop at these stores. It’s a zero sum
game. The benefit given to the workers leads to damages incurred by
other members of society. No one benefits. This is basic
economics. Workers’ unions are ruining economies in
countries like France and states like California.

John Minnix The Anderson School at UCLA